There have been many studies done on Medieval Europe and the Kingdoms and cultures that lived during this period. The Merovingians and the Anglo-Saxons are two of these groups that lived as...Show moreThere have been many studies done on Medieval Europe and the Kingdoms and cultures that lived during this period. The Merovingians and the Anglo-Saxons are two of these groups that lived as neighbours in the same period. A lot of research has therefore been done on them. However, one element has been overlooked by both of them for many centuries: women. Women have been an overlooked part of history and society. Only in the last few decades did they get more attention. This thesis investigates the lives and deaths of women in the Merovingian and the early and middle Anglo-Saxon periods from an archaeological standpoint. It does this by looking at the different themes, such as burial practices, what their status was in society and the influence of Christianity. This thesis is a literary review that discusses two case studies; the Merovingian cemetery of Bergeijk-Fazantlaan and the Anglo-Saxon cemetery in Buckland, Dover. There are a lot of similarities between the two neighbouring groups. A similarity is that both groups highly sexualised their women. Additionally, women did not have a lot of power and control in their lives. Their societal status depended on their fathers and husbands' status. There were still a few differences between the two groups. The Anglo-Saxons still used cremation burials, while the Merovingians discarded them. Another difference is the appearance of knives in the Anglo-Saxon female graves in the case study. These knives show a difference in how women were seen in society. Merovingian women were encouraged to be helpless and to never bear arms. The knives show that the Anglo-Saxon women were encouraged to protect themselves and to be slightly more powerful in life. This thesis showed, that even though the neighbouring cultures had a lot in common, they did have differences. One of the biggest differences between the two is the difference in scholars. This is why cross-culture analyses are important as they show new sides to old research and give people new ideas to test in their respective fields.Show less
Identity within the Roman Empire has always been a major issue in archaeological research within the Mediterranean world, since there appears to be a large regional variability in cultural identity...Show moreIdentity within the Roman Empire has always been a major issue in archaeological research within the Mediterranean world, since there appears to be a large regional variability in cultural identity. Burial practices show information on social con-structs and can contribute to the complex issue on identity within the Roman Em-pire. A comparison of the burial practices of the rural cemetery of Vallerano, near Rome – core of the Roman Empire -, and the British Iron Age and Roman cemeteries of Tolpuddle Ball, Fordington Bottom, Watling Street and Bloxham demonstrated that a distinction between two different types of cemeteries can be distinguished. These two cemetery-types consist of cemeteries where Iron Age burial practices remain in use, but also show an influence of Roman burials and cemeteries that re-semble the burial practices of the rural suburbium of Rome. Both types reflect a dif-ferent type of cultural identity, one in which the local Iron Age practices are still strongly visible mixed with Roman characteristics and one in which Roman practices are commonly used.Show less
Research master thesis | Archaeology (research) (MA/MSc)
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Archaeologists still have a lot to learn about the mortuary rituals of cremated human remains from the Bronze and Iron Age. Even though a large sample of burials from these periods contain cremated...Show moreArchaeologists still have a lot to learn about the mortuary rituals of cremated human remains from the Bronze and Iron Age. Even though a large sample of burials from these periods contain cremated remains, the main research focus has been on inhumated remains. Only recently, the importance of cremated remains became clear and the possibilities of investigating cremated human remains started to be explored. Yet, a lot of information might still be derived from these remains. With this thesis, the importance of careful and detailed excavation is studied through an examination of a human cremation burial from the Uddeler Heegde, Apeldoorn. This is done with the aim to study the funerary practices of the burial to its most extent. First, the concept of mortuary rituals is prospected through a modern (European) perspective. The excavation and determination of the case study burial are described in detail, providing a transparent study. By using concepts as personhood, social persona and the dramatis personae theory of Hertz, the relational identities of the deceased are studied. Hypotheses are used to define what mortuary practices could have been possible and which are rather implausible. Overall, this study demonstrates the additional possibilities acquired by high quality excavation of human cremation burials.Show less
In this paper the influence of paganism on the burial traditions, rituals, and practices of Late Antique Christianity from the Eastern Mediterranean is researched. This is achieved through the...Show moreIn this paper the influence of paganism on the burial traditions, rituals, and practices of Late Antique Christianity from the Eastern Mediterranean is researched. This is achieved through the study of the overall archaeological record which is related to death and burials as well as of other historical sources where the relationship between Christians and pagans becomes apparent. Christians and pagans lived together and peacefully most of the time for more than five hundred years. Christianity emerged in a world full of pagan gods and cults and therefore was inevitable not to remain intact. This unintentional and long communion between Christianity and paganism becomes obvious through the archaeology of death from certain sites in Greece, Syro-Palestine, and Egypt, where grave goods and manifestations of funerary art, inscriptions and epitaphs, bear witness to an immediate contact between the two. The archaeology of death, although vague for the eastern part of the Mediterranean due to insufficient research, illustrates the influences of paganism on Christianity, giving at the same time an insight on the emerging Christian identity and the Christianization processes that the Roman world faced during the period of Late Antiquity.Show less
In 1933 the so-called chieftain’s burial of Oss was found. It dates from the Early Iron Age, or Hallstatt C-period, in the second half of the 7th century BC. This rich grave, of which the cremation...Show moreIn 1933 the so-called chieftain’s burial of Oss was found. It dates from the Early Iron Age, or Hallstatt C-period, in the second half of the 7th century BC. This rich grave, of which the cremation rests and grave goods were deposited in a bronze situla, included different imported artefacts from Central Europe. In the 1960’s it became clear that a number of these objects were parts of horse gear. In the past decades, all the objects from the chieftain’s grave of Oss have been published. Nevertheless, these publications generally only included a description of the finds. Function, context, and an analysis of the objects are now presented within this thesis for the first time. All objects from Oss that can be assigned as horse gear are described together with typological parallels and their distribution throughout Europe. Oss contains components of two bridles and a yoke. It is now clear that most parallels of the objects are found in Bohemia, Bavaria and the area north of the Alps. A total of 13 object-categories of horse gear, dating from the Hallstatt C-period, have been used for a statistical analysis. It compares the inventory of the horse gear from Oss with that of 59 others. It is now evident that the inventory of Oss includes relatively many object-categories. About 80% of the other inventories contained less. It can therefore be concluded that the inventory of Oss is one of the richest in its kind. The most common objects are the bits and cheek-pieces. The experience of three equestrian professionals was used for a contemporary approach on the horse gear from Oss. New technical aspects came to light: the grooves on the bars of the bits are functional. They are not cruel, as sometimes is stated. Some horses play more with such a bit in their mouth and therefore accept them more easily. Furthermore, because of the grooves more saliva is produced. Finally, old reconstructions of Hallstatt C-bridles do not attribute any technical function to the curved ends of the cheek-pieces. Within this thesis a new reconstruction of the bridle has been made which includes a functional element of the cheek-pieces: they could have been used for the attachment of reins. This was also underlined by the comments of the equestrian professionals.Show less
